Wringer mop



y 11, 1954 A. M. JOUBAN 2,677,838

' WRINGER MOP Filed Dec. 7, 1951 2 Sheds-Sheet l 6' m Z 2 i v E w p 9 ATTORNEYS y 1954 A. M. JOUBAN 2,677,838

WRINGER MOP Filed Dec. 7, 1951 2 sheets sheet 2 ///J Manama Patented May 11, 1954 UNITED STATES Z ATENT OFFICE WRIN GER MOP Albert M. Jouban, Lafayette, La.

Application December 7,

3 Claims.

relates to floor mops, and more a door mop having a mop-spreadmop-wringing mechanism incorpo- This invention particularly to ing pad and rated therein.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improved floor mop assembly including a handle, a mop secured to one end of the handle and mechanism connected between the mop and the handle for wringing the mop without removing the mop from the handle and without the necessity of any separate wringing device; which includes a pad or applicator of resilient material within the mop for spreading the mop over a floor area and resiliently pressing the mop against a floor surface but which pad does not interfere with the wringing of the mop; which provides both a stretching and a twisting or wrapping action on the mop strandsin the wringing operation of the mop; and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, and positive and efiective in operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following description and the appended claims, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational View of a mop illustrative of the invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View on the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4- is a perspective view of the mop in mop-wringin condition;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the mop in the condition illustrated in Figur 4 with portions broken away and shown in cross-section to better illustrate the construction thereof;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a somewhat modified form of mop;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6, but with portions broken away and shown in cross-section to better illustrate the construction of the mop;

Figure 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 6; and

Figure 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale showing the mop in mopwringing condition.

With continued reference to the drawings, and particularly to the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, the mop comprises a pad it of resilient material, such. as vulcanized rubber, including a central boss ll of generally cylindrical shape, open at one end and closed at the other end by a flat end wall l2, and an annular web or flange I3 secured to the boss Il 1951, Serial No. 260,399

at the open end of the latter in surrounding relationship thereto and projecting outwardly from the boss. This Web i3 is tapered in thickness from the boss to its outer, substantially circular edge, and is cup-shaped so that an outer annular portion i l thereof substantially contacts a plane which contacts the outer side or the end wall E2 of the boss.

The boss i2 is internally screw-threaded, and an elongated handle it formed of wood or other suitable material has at one end a screw-thread formation it threaded into the boss H of the pad ill, so that the handle extends from the boss and is disposed substantially perpendicularly to the pad.

A tubular body it in the form of an elongated collar has a bore extending longitudinally therethrough and receiving the handle i5, and this collar is disposed on the handle adjacent the pad iii and provided in its end remote from the pad with a screw-threaded counterbore I9. At its other end the collar i8 is provided with an external annular groove 20, and a tubular nut 2| is mounted on the handle at the side of the collar i8 remote from the pad 10.

Th nut 2| has a bore extending longitudinally therethrough and receiving the handle l5, and has an externally screw-threaded portion 22 of substantially cylindrical shape adjacent the collar l8, and an annular flange 23 on its end remote from the collar, the flange 23 providing at its side adjacent the screw-threaded portion 22 an annular shoulder 2 3 which functions as a limit stop for the collar it. Ihe nut is provided with tapped holes extending radially of the flange 23 thereof, and a set screw 25 is threaded through one of these holes and bears against the handle it to lock the nut in adjusted position on the handle, and a hand lever 26 is threaded at one end into the other tapped hole in the nut flange and projects radially from thenut for a purpose to be presently described.

A group of mop strands 27 extend across the bottom wall it of the pad boss ii and are bound,

r substantially at their mid-length location, to the boss I! by a band 23 which extends around the mop strands and around an annular recess in the boss between the end wall i2 of the boss and the web- [3 extending from the open end of the latter.

At their ends the mop strands 2'! are bound to the collar it by a band 2%? which extends around the end portions of the mop strands and forces these end portions into the annular groove 28 in the collar. The mop strands are angularly arranged relative to each other, so that they completely surround the boss II and the adjacent end portion of the handle I5 and are doubled between the boss and the collar I8 and secured in doubled or folded-over condition by one or more circular rows of stitching, as indicated at 30, surrounding and spaced from the outer edge of the flange portion I3 of the pad ID.

The collar I8 is provided with a tapped hole intermediate its length, and a hand lever 3| is threaded at one end into the tapped hole in the collar and extends radially therefrom.

When the mop is used in its operative condition, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the discshaped pad I holds the mop strands outwardly of the boss II and adjacent end of the handle and resiliently presses the mop strands against a floor surface on which the mop is being used.

When it is desired to wring the mop, the hand lever 26 is grasped in one lever 3| in the other. The hand lever 3| is then moved along the handle I5 toward the hand lever until the end of the nut 2| adjacent the collar I8 is entered into the outer end of the screw-threaded counterbore I9 in the collar. The hand lever 3| is then turned about the handle I5, while the hand lever 26 is used to hold the handle against rotation until the collar I8 has been fully threaded onto the nut 2|. This threading of the collar I8 onto the nut 2| simultaneously stretches the mop strands 21 and twists or wraps the mop strands about the handle, and the flange portion I3 of the pad Iii, which is folded during the movement of the collar toward the nut to the cup-shaped form illustrated in Figure 5. This simultaneous stretching and wrapping of the mop strands compresses the strands sufficiently to squeeze substantially all of the water from the mop. The screw-thread formation on the handle is in the same direc- L tion as the screw-thread formation 22 on the nut, so that the handle will not be unscrewed from the boss II while the collar I8 is being threaded onto the screw-threaded portion 22 of the nut 2|.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figures '7 to 9, inclusive, a plug 35 of elongated, cylindrical shape has at one end a screw-thread formation 36 threaded into the boss I I of the pad I8, which is the same as Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, and previously described.

An elongated, tubular, inner member 31 telescopically receives the plug 35 in one end thereof and is secured at one end to the plug adjacent the boss I I, as indicated at 38.

The member 31 is provided with a spiral slot 40 which extends once therearound and from a location adjacent the end of the member remote from the plug 35 to a location intermediate the length of the member, and is also provided with a straight slot 4|which extends longitudinally thereof from a location adjacent the inner end of the spiral slot 40 to a location spaced from the end of the plug 35 remote from the boss II of the pad ID. The spiral slot 43 and the straight slot 4| are disposed in end-to-end relationship and extend along the member 31 for substantially equal distances, and the slot 4| is provided at its end adjacent the slot 40 with a lateral offset 42 to provide a bayonet joint connection to be later described.

The handle I5 is slidably received in the tubular member 31 and projects from the end of this tubular member remote from the pad II). It has its inner end spaced from the adjacent end of hand and the hand the pad illustrated in 4 the plug and carries adjacent its inner end a pin 43 which extends through the straight slot 4| in the tubular member 31.

A compression spring 44 is disposed in the tubular member 31 between the adjacent ends of the plug 35 and the handle I5.

An outer tubular member 45, somewhat shorter than the inner tubular member 31, receives and is slidably mounted on the inner tubular member. This outer tubular member has a spiral slot 45 which extends twice therearound and substantially from one end thereof to the other, having a total length substantially equal to twice the length of the spiral slot in the member 31 or to the combined length of the spiral slot 40 and the straight slot 4| in the inner tubular member 31.

At its end adjacent the plug 35 the outer tubular member is externally screw-threaded, as indicated at 41, and a nut 48 having an external annular groove therein is threaded onto the screw-threaded portion 41 of the outer tubular member 45.

The mop strands 21 extend across the end wall I2 of the boss [I of the pad I3 and are secured substantially at their mid-length locations to the pad boss by the band 28, as described above. These mop strands are angularly arranged relative to each other to completely surround the plug 35 and the adjacent end portion of the inher tubular member 31 and have their ends disposed in surrounding relationship to the nut 48 and bound to this nut by a clamp band 50. The stitching 3B is also provided in the mop strands between the pad boss I I, and the band 50 to provide a substantially circular ring around the outer edge of the mop when the mop is in the operative position, as illustrated in Figures 6 and 7.

The pin 43 on the handle which extends through the straight slot 4| in the inner tubular member 31 also extends through the spiral slot 43 in the outer tubular member 45, and a pin 5|, carried by the outer tubular member adjacent its end, remote from the pad Ill, extends into the spiral slot 40 in the inner tubular member 31.

With this arrangement, when it is desired to wring the mop, the handle is first slightly rotated to move the pin 43 out of the lateral offset 42 at the upper end of the straight slot 4| and into the upper end of the inner slot, thereby releasing the handle for movement inwardly of the inner tubular member 31. With the end wall 52 of the pad I0 resting on the floor or in a pail, the handle I5 is now manually forced downwardly and inwardly of the inner tubular member 31. As the pin 43 moves along the straight slot 4| and along the spiral slot 45 of the outer tubular member 45, it forces the outer tubular member to rotate through one complete rotation. As the outer tubular member 45 rotates one rotation, the pin 5| carried thereby moves around and along the spiral slot 40 in the outer portion of the inner tubular member 31, causing the outer tubular member to move longitudinally outwardly of the inner tubular member until the pin 5| reaches the outer end of the slot 40. This will move the screw-threaded end of the outer tubular member away from the boss II of the resilient pad a distance equal to the length of the spiral slot 40, and the rotation of the outer tubular member will simultaneously twist or wrap the mop strands about the portion of the inner tubular member 31 which receives the plug 35.

As the spiral slot 46 in the outer tubular member 45 has a length equal to the combined length spiral slot 40 and the straight slot 4| in the inner tubular member 41, when the pin 43 reaches the inner end of the straight slot 4|, the

of the inner tubular member a distance equal to the length of the straight slot, and the pin will also have moved along the outer tubular member a distance equal to the length of this slot, so that it will now be at the inner end of the spiral slot 46, and the spring 44- will be compressed substantially to the condition illustrated in Figure 9.

If the downward pressure on the mop handle I5 is now released, the handle will be forced outwardly of the inner tubular member 31 and the pin 42 will end of the straight slot 4|, returning the outer tubular member to the position in which its screw-threaded end is adjacent the boss ll of the resilient pad, and the pin 43 is seated in the lateral offset 42 at the outer end of the straight slot 4|.

The plug 35 is provided merely as an abutment for the inner end of compression spring 44, and may be omitted and a longer spring used, if desired, without in any way exceeding the scope of the invention.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A floor mop comprising a pad of elastic material including a central boss open at one end and having an end wall closing its other end and an annular web surrounding said boss at the open end of the latter and projecting outwardly therefrom, an elongated handle disposed substantially perpendicularly to said pad and coaxially of said boss, a tubular body receiving said handle and movab longitudinally and rotatably thereof, mop strands extending across th end wall of said boss and angularly related to completely surround said pad, means binding said strands intermediate their length to said boss, means binding said strands at their ends to said tubular body, and means surrounding said handle and engageable with said tubular body and rotationally and longitudinally movable relative thereto to move said tubular body away from said pad and stretchingly compress said mop strands, said pad being cupped within said strands when said strands are stretched.

2. A floor mop comprising a pad of resilient material including a central boss open at one end and having an end Wall closing its other end and an annular web surrounding said boss at the open end of the latter and projecting outwardly therefrom, an elongated handle secured at one the foregoing end in said boss and extending substantially perpendicularly from said pad, a tubular body receiving said handle and disposed adjacent said pad, an externally screw-threaded nut secured on said handle at the end of said tubular body related to completely surround said pad, means binding said strands intermediate their length to said boss, means binding said strands at their ends to said tubular body, said tubular body having a screw-threaded counterbore in its end adjacent said nut, and a hand lever secured to said tubular body for moving the latter along said said boss and having a spiral slot therein extending longitudinally thereof from its other end and a straight slot extending longitudinally thereof from the inner end of said spiral slot toward said pad, an elongated handle slidably received in said inner tubular member and having at its end adjacent said pad a pin slidably received in the straight slot in said inner tubular member, a compression spring disposed in said inner tubular member between said pad and said handle, an outer tubular member slidably and rotatably receiving said inner tubular member and having a spiral slot extending longitudinally thereof a distance equal to the combined length of the spiral slot and the straight slot in said inner tubular member, said handle-carried pin extending through the straight slot in said inner tubular member and into the spiral slot in said outer tubular member, a pin on said outer tubular member adjacent the end thereof remote from said pad received in the spiral slot in said inner tubular member, mop strands extending across the end wall of said boss and angularly related to completely surround said pad, means binding said mop strands intermediate their length to said boss, and means binding said mop strands pad and rotatable relative to said inner tubular member upon movement of said handle inwardly of said inner tubular member against the force of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

